Maris Grove’s 87 rolling and wooded acres comprise two neighborhoods, each boasting a roughly 50,000-square-foot clubhouse and five residence buildings. A circuit of hallways and climate-controlled, enclosed bridges connects all the buildings.

So Marion and her husband Mike are just a short, indoor stroll from four campus restaurants, visits to their neighbors, and 180-plus events and activities.

Active twosome

The Hardys are an active campus couple. As resident ambassadors, they attend sales luncheons and tell guests about life at Maris Grove.

They help plan the monthly Lutheran service in the community’s nondenominational chapel.

And Marion is president of the German Club, a lively group that hosts interesting speakers and rides Maris Grove buses for trips to local German restaurants and events.

So she was dismayed earlier this year when walking became painful and she learned she needed hip surgery.

There were some upsides: Her specialist’s office was across the street from Maris Grove, and because of her physical condition, she was considered a good candidate to have both hips done at the same time.

She did just that this spring.

“And I walked for 20 minutes the morning before surgery even though I used a walker to do it,” she says.

She did her post-surgery rehabilitation on campus, too, at Rose Court, Maris Grove’s rehabilitation and continuing care neighborhood.

Marion never felt isolated there, as Mike and her neighbors could easily walk or take the campus shuttle to visit.

During her three-week stay, Maris Grove’s physical and occupational therapists worked with her three times a day, six days a week. “The therapists work you and work you—and you move!” she says. “They were excellent.”

When Marion returned to the Hardys’ apartment home, she went to outpatient therapy, conveniently located in one of Maris Grove’s residence buildings.

By July, she’d completed her sessions, ditched her cane, and was taking daily walks.

She was also doing soft aerobics, strengthening her thigh muscles at the campus fitness center, and ready to go golfing and to resume gentle exercises in Maris Grove’s all-season pool.

Now she’s likely hoofing it to the mall outside Maris Grove’s gated entrance to purchase needlework supplies at Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft.

“We’re so glad we live here,” Marion says. “The fact that everything is right here, and the doctors that aren’t here full-time have offices just across the street, is wonderful.”